Last night, for the 3rd time in the 10 years I’ve owned my car, I was stopped by a State Trooper. Once it was for a tail light out, once for a brake light out, and last night, it was for one of the lights over the license plate. I think it’s pretty safe to say that I don’t routinely check any of the lights in back.
Headlights and front turn signals are easy - I can see reflections in the vehicle ahead of me, especially when stopped. Sometimes when backing down my driveway in the dark, I can verify the brake lights are working, and maybe the tail lights. But the light over the tag would never have occurred to me.
It’s not a biggie - the “ticket” was a warning and I’ll get a replacement bulb when I run errands later today. I don’t have to get the repair verified and I’m not angry or anything - just somewhat amused.
On the other hand, as I drove to pick up my grandson this morning, I saw THREE vehicles with a headlight out. Where the heck were the troopers ??
How are your lights? Do you have any idea? Does it ever occur to you to check?
Most of the newer vehicles use LED lights, even for headlights, so it’s less likely for those to fail, but not impossible of course. I live in a rural area and see lots of vehicles with headlamps and tail lights inoperative. It’s dark out here, how do they find their way home?
I recall the guys on Car Talk addressing burnt out headlights in one episode. People were calling in claiming that both their headlights went out at the same time. Their theory was that headlights are so bright, you wouldn’t necessarily notice when one burns out, so you drive along oblivious till the other one blows. Made sense to me…
I don’t understand the need for license plate lights. Does your car have headlights? Do they illuminate my plate? Then why do I need fiddly little bulbs that burn out unnoticed?
Smokey once pulled me over at night in the middle of a downpour to give me a warning ticket for burnt out plate lights. Stupidest ticket ever. But once I got the lights replaced the ticket was rescinded.
The light in my Mustang’s trunk hasn’t worked for years – I think that there is a loose wire somewhere.
All of the exterior lights work, however. I double-check that the taillights and brake lights work from time to time, when I pull into the garage at night, and check them against the reflection on the closed garage door.
I had one burn out on me. But it wasn’t just the bulb, the whole damned assembly melted. Cost me $600 to repair. And the kicker is, I think the last guy who replaced my headlight fucked something up causing it to melt. But i couldn’t prove it.
My full service oil guys routinely check all exterior lights when I get an oil change (Valvoline). On my current car everything is LED, so I’ve never had any problems with burnt out lights.
My neighbor had that problem with his Mustang. It took me about 5 seconds to find the problem, the mercury switch that turns the light off and on was bent and would not close when the trunk was open. Bent it back into position and the light works. Had the same problem years ago with a 64 Mercury Comet I owned.
I check the lights on my pickup every time I hookup my travel trailer. My wife does the walk around while I turn them all on and off. We check her car every few months. I keep a nice supply of bulbs in my garage just in case.
I’ve got astigmatism, so I have been avoiding night driving as much as possible. About halfway down this page, you’ll see how I see lights at night. Bright oncoming lights are the worst, especially on the dark country roads around here. If I have to drive when it’s dark, I have to guide myself by the white line along the right side of my lane, even along roads I’ve been driving for years. Mostly, tho, I don’t drive after dark. So who knows how long my license plate light has been out…